04/11/2015 12:31Preds' Josi To Sit With Lower-Body Injury
Josi will miss Saturday's game against the Stars due to the lower-body injury, Adam Vingan of The Tennessean reports.The injury is more than likely minor, but with the Predators already having secured a playoff spot, the team didn't want to risk Josi's conditioning taking a turn for the worse in a meaningless regular-season contest. The 24-year-old established himself as a top-flight fantasy blueliner this season, accruing 15 goals, 55 points, 209 blocks, and a plus-15 rating over his 81 games.

Last season, in the wake of fellow blueliner Ryan Suter’s departure, Roman Josi was promoted to the top defensive pairing alongside Shea Weber and responded with a career-best 40 points (13 goals and 27 assists) in 72 games. Josi was given much more on-ice responsibility last season and finished just behind Weber in total ice time, averaging 26:25 per game, or roughly three minutes more than the previous season (23:31). He was also a staple on the Preds’ power play where he racked up 13 points and averaged 3:05 per game in ice time. This season, Josi’s emergence as a strong two-way defenseman should continue. And Josi should benefit from an improved supporting cast with the likes of James Neal, Mike Ribeiro, Olli Jokinen and Derek Roy now in the fold. Fantasy wise, feel free to target Josi in the middle to later rounds of your draft, especially in those formats with positional requirements. (Updated 8/13/14)